STOP the WAR AGAINST THE ARAB PEOPLE!
From Palestine to Lebanon, from Iraq to Brooklyn…

March and Rally
Saturday, September 30th

Gather at 12 Noon
March steps off at 1:00 p.m.
Grand Army Plaza, at the Fountain
Brooklyn, NY
Subway: 2 or 3 to Grand Army Plaza

Join the Coalition in Solidarity with the Arab People to march on the sixth anniversary of the Intifada to stop the war against the Arab people!

We demand:

* Stop war on the Arab world!
* Immediate & Unconditional Right to return for all Palestinian refugees!
* End the occupation of historic Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and everywhere!
* End all U.S. aid to apartheid Israel
* Release all political prisoners!
* Support the people’s right to resist!

We stand united in our opposition to US war, empire, occupation and racism everywhere, from Afghanistan to Brooklyn, and in solidarity with the people of Iran and Syria against the ongoing threats of war.

Join us to march, and raise our voices for justice!!

The Coalition in Solidarity with the Arab People:
*Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition – NY *American-Iranian Friendship Committee *Anakbayan NY/NJ *Arab American Association of New York *Arab Muslim American Federation *BAYAN USA *International Action Center *International League of People’s Struggle *Malcolm X Grassroots Movement *New Jersey Solidarity – Activists for the Liberation of Palestine *New York City Labor Against the War *New York Committee to Defend Palestine *Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum; *Workers World Party

Also endorsed by:
*Million Worker March Movement (East)
*New York Committee to Free the Cuban Five *Queers For Palestine-East Coast

For more information, to join the coalition, and to get involved, please contact: Al-Awda NY
718-228-8636 info @ al-awdany.org

2. Mon., Oct. 16: Lynne Stewart Sentencing

In a case that has echoes of Haymarket, Sacco/Vanzetti, and the Rosenbergs, attorney Lynne Stewart will be sentenced on Monday October 16.

The government is calling her a terrorist because of her legal work for Omar Abdel Rahman, a convicted Egyptian Islamic scholar and has demanded that Judge John Koeltl sentence her to Federal Prison for 30 Years.

Supporters of Lynne and her work, supporters of the Constitution, Political Activists and Leaders have joined to demand no jail. Lynne is 67, is fighting breast cancer and has suffered the worst punishment — she is no longer able to legally represent people in Court.

IT IS CRUCIAL that our resistance to this Government Outrage be Focused, Directed, Loud and Clear.

To accomplish this as widely as possible the LSDC has scheduled numerous events leading up to 10/16. We ask that you join us that you get your organization to join us, that you email your personal network to join us.

There are still openings where Lynne would be available to speak etc. Please contact PatLevasseurp@aol.com or 212-625-9696

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*This message, like thousands of others that have been posted to the ALAA e-list, constitutes protected free speech, pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreement, §§ 3.5 (“The expression of personal religious, political, social or economic beliefs of each and every attorney is fully guaranteed and will never constitute grounds for discharge or relief from an individual assignment unless, in either instance, it can be demonstrated that such expression has, or will, directly interfere(d) with, and detract from, representation of a Society client so as to render said representation less than at the highest level of competence and effectiveness.”) and 1.5 (“The Union will have reasonable use of the Society’s internal communication mechanisms.”).

September 25, 2006

From: Susan Morris
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 4:24 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Lynne Stewart Update
We are awaiting the outcome of today’s hearing at the US Federal Court, Worth Street in Manhattan before Judge Koeltl on the challenge by LS to wiretaps under the NSA.

If this hearing comes out as her legal team hopes, the possibility exists for the trial to be found improper based on the illegal activities of the government in wiretapping conversations between herself and her attorneys.

Legal Access Network for South Asians (LANSA) is coordinating a panel on “The Impact of Immigration Reform on South Asian Workers’ Rights”. This panel will provide a comprehensive look at the impact of immigration reform on South Asian communities and individual workers.

When: Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

What Time: 7p.m.

Where: Kirkpatrick and Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
599 Lexington Ave
New York
(52nd St. and Lex. on the E, V, 6 trains)

What: Immigration Reform Panel on South Asian Worker Rights Speakers include:
Deepa Iyer, Director, South Asian Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT) Anil Kalhan, Professor at Columbia Law School and currently Visiting Professor at Fordham Law School Subash Kateel , Co-Founder and Co-Director, Families for Freedom

Appetizers and drinks will be served.
RSVP to Sabita Krishnan at sabita.krishnan@gmail.com

11 a.m.
Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
47 St. between 2 and 1 aves. (across the street from the UN)

U.S. Out of the Middle East
No More Blood for Empire, Oil and Profit *Immediate withdrawal of U.S. and all other occupation forces from Iraq, Afghanistan & the entire Middle East.
*Freedom for Palestine & Lebanon — End all aid to the Israeli apartheid state.
*No war on Iran and Syria.

Defend Working People At Home
*No human being is “illegal” — Full amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
*End the attack on Arab/Muslim rights.
*Reconstruction and the right of return for Katrina victims.
*Decent wages and benefits for all workers.

*This message, like thousands of others that have been posted to the ALAA e-list, constitutes protected free speech, pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreement, §§ 3.5 (“The expression of personal religious, political, social or economic beliefs of each and every attorney is fully guaranteed and will never constitute grounds for discharge or relief from an individual assignment unless, in either instance, it can be demonstrated that such expression has, or will, directly interfere(d) with, and detract from, representation of a Society client so as to render said representation less than at the highest level of competence and effectiveness.”) and 1.5 (“The Union will have reasonable use of the Society’s internal communication mechanisms.”).

I beg to differ. Many unions function as [S] has indicated, yes. That is because the majority of the unions are not truly democratic and basically have leaderships that make all decisions for its members. One exception being a new contract.

Up to the last couple of years, ALAA always prided itself in being one of the most democratic unions in existence. We made sure that all members, whether they went to meetings or not, were fully informed on what their leadership was involved in.

No one is asking for the minute details of all discussions had with management. What we are entitled to, given our history and past practice, are reports laying out what exactly is going on with negotiations, where we stand.

This is the only way of insuring that everyone gets the same quality of information. We don’t have to depend on whether someone takes good notes or whether they have a good memory. We also cut down drastically on the jumping to conclusions that goes on throughout ALAA.

This is not that much to ask for; especially since it’s been provided in the past.

>>> [S] 09/14 4:20 PM >>>
I must disagree with my Brooklyn colleagues. Negotiations are not conducted with the continuing advice and consent of 1000 people (LAS lawyers). Negotiation are best conducted – in confidence – by the duly-elected bargaining committee. Once a contract is given to us to vote on, then we can vote it up or down.

We make informed discisions on the contract as a whole, not each aspect as it is being negotiated. Factual reports distributed after each meeting will undoubtedly serve to be divisive and ultimately meaningless, as they are seldom representative of the final proposal. We vote on the forest, not the individual trees.

As union members, we are not entitled to the information cluster 3 requests. We are entitled to hold our union leaders accountable by voting on the contract and their office. The bargaining process is, and should be, conducted in confidence by our leadership. The time for informed decision-making is whe it comes time to vote.

This is how unions operate, and how ours should as well.

>>> [JS] 09/13 3:05 PM >>>
The attorneys of Brooklyn CDD Cluster 3 request that these bodies publish a complete written report explaining every stage of the bargaining process. Factual reports of each discussion held with management and/or the board, distributed promptly, will ensure that the membership is engaged and leadership held accountable. In the near future, we will be expected to vote on a new contact. Knowledge of the manner in which the facts are developed and the rationale for management’s acceptance or refusal of terms will help us make a truly informed decision. As Union members, we are entitled to this information.

Our Cluster Delegate will propose that this resolution be adopted at the next Brooklyn delegates meeting and we urge members in other boroughs to do the same.

I know this even is very early in the morning, but this coalition has been doing some very inspiring work standing up for the rights of immigrants and against harrassment of day laborers in New Jersey. I really encourage people to come out.

In response to complaints by [AP] and perhaps other ALAA members, management reissued its 2002 declaration that there can be no discussion of any kind on the ALAA list, along with threats of discipline up to and including termination.

For the reasons given in my last Antiwar Bulletin, that policy is invalid. Members should continue to exercise their free speech rights on the list, and might want to include a disclaimer like:

“Free Speech Notice: This message, like thousands of others that have been posted to the ALAA e-list, constitutes protected free speech, pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreement, §§ 3.5 (“The expression of personal religious, political, social or economic beliefs of each and every attorney is fully guaranteed and will never constitute grounds for discharge or relief from an individual assignment unless, in either instance, it can be demonstrated that such expression has, or will, directly interfere(d) with, and detract from, representation of a Society client so as to render said representation less than at the highest level of competence and effectiveness.”) and 1.5 (“The Union will have reasonable use of the Society’s internal communication mechanisms.”).”

>>> MR 09/12 10:00 AM >>>
Hi. i want to announce a rally called savedarfur. do you have reason to believe i’d be “disciplined” for doing so? i’ve been away and don’t know how the whole use of the e-mail debate played out.

Below are links to labor antiwar materials (including those that directly concern ALAA) from the five years since 9/11.

New York City Labor Against the War (September 27, 2001) [Initial NYCLAW statement, signed by 1,254 labor bodies and trade unionists, including 50 members of ALAA and 74 members of 1199.]

“No one should suffer what we experienced on September 11. Yet war will inevitably harm countless innocent civilians, strengthen American alliances with brutal dictatorships and deepen global poverty. . . .

“For Americans in uniform — the overwhelming number of whom are workers and people of color — it will be another Vietnam. It will generate further terror in this country against Arabs, Muslims, South Asians, people of color and immigrants, and erode our civil liberties.”

“As a labor union whose members fight each day for the statutory and constitutional rights of indigent New Yorkers, The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325, is deeply opposed to the Bush administration’s broad assault on precious civil liberties and democratic rights.”

“[A]doption of the proposed antiwar resolution is more critical now than ever. Bush’s wars of empire and colonial occupation have a profoundly destructive impact on our Union, Legal Aid Society funding, our clients, their communities, and the world in which we live.

“This resolution is also an opportunity to reaffirm ALAA’s historic commitment to social justice; to honest, open, mutually-respectful internal discussion; to principle over opportunism; and to a more effective union.”

Labor and the Middle East War (August 11, 2006) [NYCLAW’s most recent statement]

“For weeks, Israel has turned Lebanon into a killing ground, slaughtering and maiming thousands of people, destroying the civilian infrastructure, and turning a quarter of the population into refugees in their own land. At the same time, it continues to brutalize Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

“Israel’s crimes are carried out with U.S.-made F-16s, Apache helicopters, and cluster bombs. These high-tech lethal weapons are part of $5 billion that Israel gets each year from the United States, courtesy of the Republican and Democratic parties, with enthusiastic support from Neo-cons and right-wing Christian fundamentalists.”

2. Collective Bargaining Agreement, § 3.5 (“The expression of personal religious, political, social or economic beliefs of each and every attorney is fully guaranteed and will never constitute grounds for discharge or relief from an individual assignment unless, in either instance, it can be demonstrated that such expression has, or will, directly interfere(d) with, and detract from, representation of a Society client so as to render said representation less than at the highest level of competence and effectiveness.”); Collective Bargaining Agreement, § 1.5 (“he Union will have reasonable use of the Society’s internal communication mechanisms.”).

Free Speech Notice: This message, like at least 3,000 others that have been posted to the ALAA e-list,[FN1] constitutes protected free speech[FN2].

——————————–

Below are links to labor antiwar materials (including those that directly concern ALAA) from the five years since 9/11.

New York City Labor Against the War (September 27, 2001) [Initial NYCLAW statement, signed by 1,254 labor bodies and trade unionists, including 50 members of ALAA and 74 members of 1199.]

“No one should suffer what we experienced on September 11. Yet war will inevitably harm countless innocent civilians, strengthen American alliances with brutal dictatorships and deepen global poverty. . . .

“For Americans in uniform — the overwhelming number of whom are workers and people of color — it will be another Vietnam. It will generate further terror in this country against Arabs, Muslims, South Asians, people of color and immigrants, and erode our civil liberties.”

“As a labor union whose members fight each day for the statutory and constitutional rights of indigent New Yorkers, The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325, is deeply opposed to the Bush administration’s broad assault on precious civil liberties and democratic rights.”

“[A]doption of the proposed antiwar resolution is more critical now than ever. Bush’s wars of empire and colonial occupation have a profoundly destructive impact on our Union, Legal Aid Society funding, our clients, their communities, and the world in which we live.

“This resolution is also an opportunity to reaffirm ALAA’s historic commitment to social justice; to honest, open, mutually-respectful internal discussion; to principle over opportunism; and to a more effective union.”

Labor and the Middle East War (August 11, 2006) [NYCLAW’s most recent statement]

“For weeks, Israel has turned Lebanon into a killing ground, slaughtering and maiming thousands of people, destroying the civilian infrastructure, and turning a quarter of the population into refugees in their own land. At the same time, it continues to brutalize Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

“Israel’s crimes are carried out with U.S.-made F-16s, Apache helicopters, and cluster bombs. These high-tech lethal weapons are part of $5 billion that Israel gets each year from the United States, courtesy of the Republican and Democratic parties, with enthusiastic support from Neo-cons and right-wing Christian fundamentalists.”

2. Collective Bargaining Agreement, § 3.5 (“The expression of personal religious, political, social or economic beliefs of each and every attorney is fully guaranteed and will never constitute grounds for discharge or relief from an individual assignment unless, in either instance, it can be demonstrated that such expression has, or will, directly interfere(d) with, and detract from, representation of a Society client so as to render said representation less than at the highest level of competence and effectiveness.”); Collective Bargaining Agreement, § 1.5 (“he Union will have reasonable use of the Society’s internal communication mechanisms.”)